Morning Update 2-7-2020: Chicago Blackhawks standings, Injury report

The Chicago Blackhawks don’t play again until Sunday but that doesn’t mean things aren’t changing in the Central Division.

Playoff Standings

The Chicago Blackhawks are two points out of the playoffs. The two teams ahead of the Blackhawks for the last wildcard spot are the Jets and Predators. Both of those teams are dead set at 59 points.

The Jets and Predators both won their games last night. The Wild are two points behind the Blackhawks. The Wild play tonight against the Stars, so if they win, they tie the Blackhawks with 58 points. It seems like the playoff race is heating up with 28 games left to go.

It reminds fans of last season’s race. I like the exciting style of hockey the Blackhawks are playing. They have played some quick, fast hockey, with little results. Those little results came in back-to-back overtime losses. The losses were to the Wild and then Bruins.

Just two points out, they’re in a good spot. They need to come out hot on Sunday against Jets.

Injury Report

Brent Seabrook had his final surgery on Thursday. Seabrook will now need at least five-to-six months to recover. If everything goes well, he would be ready before the start of the 2020-21 NHL season. Whether he plays or not is still yet to be seen.

Seabrook still has four seasons left on his contract. For the next two seasons, he will have a no-movement clause. After that, it becomes modified. For the modified clause, he can be traded without his full consent. It just has to be a team he lists on his 10-team trade list.

Adam Boqvist suffered a shoulder injury against the Bruins on Wednesday. He was hit against the boards by David Krejci. If Boqvist isn’t ready for Sunday’s game, expect Nick Seeler to make his Blackhawks’ debut.

There is still no report on Andrew Shaw. Knowing his injury history, there is no telling when he will come back. I am hoping it’s before the playoffs. If he is going to miss more time, even going into the playoffs, the team will need to add forward depth for a playoff run.

More from Blackhawk Up

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• Blackhawks: Grading Connor Murphy and a position comparison
• Blackhawks: Shuffling the lines to try and spark offense at 5 on 5
• These Lineup Changes could Solve the Blackhawks’ Scoring Problem
• Blackhawks: List Of Things To Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving

Trade-Idea

The Blackhawks should try to move Erik Gustafsson. Gustafsson hasn’t played his best hockey this season. If Stan Bowman could get fair trade, I’m sure he’d gladly accept.

Gustafsson’s contract runs out in the summer. So, if they want to get something for him, they’d have to trade him.

They can either go for a late draft pick or find a rental player. A few players that come to mind for a rental would be Trevor van Riemsdyk. He will be a free agent in the summer too. He’s only played in 34 of the Hurricanes’ games.

The Hurricanes would be improving with Gustafsson as one of their defensemen.

Just a thought.